1

Please can you tell me which sentence is correct.

As the invoice had been outstanding for several months/ from 31 March 2015 to 30 September 2015 (today is 9 November 2015) the company accrued the additional charges.

or

As the invoice was outstanding for several months/ from 31 March 2015 to 30 September 2015 (today is 9 November 2015) the company accrued the additional charges.

The invoice had been unpaid since 31 March 2015 and then paid on 30 September 2015 hence "had been outstanding" seems to be more appropriate. For some reason, "was outstanding" sounds better. Please help!

1
  • 2
    Both are correct. "Was" describes the state which the invoice had for those months. The past perfect [likely] describes the repetitiveness of discovering the invoice outstanding: every time you looked at it during those months, it was outstanding. Nov 9, 2015 at 19:24

1 Answer 1

1

Both stand valid. Although the Past perfect continuous version sounds a bit more professional, and since this is about a "payment invoice", which is an official subject, "had been outstanding" sound a bit more crisp.

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .